Rock legend Chubby Checker is suing Hewlett-Packard over The Chubby Checker, a Palm OS app that purports to measure the size of a man's junk.

Believe it or not, there is still a functioning "App Gallery" for Palm WebOS devices, and until September 2012 one of the apps it listed was The Chubby Checker, a handy little program meant to take the guesswork out of determining the size of a man's unit. "All you need to do is find out the man's shoe size and plug it in, and don't worry where you're from because The Chubby Checker supports shoe measurements of different regions and types," a cached copy of the app description states. "Now with The Chubby Checker there is no need for disappointment or surprise!"

Handy stuff for sure, but Ernest Evans, better known to the world as Chubby Checker, the singer behind the 1960 hit "The Twist," is not happy. He's filed a lawsuit against Hewell-Packard and Palm claiming that people are likely to associate his name, on which he's held a trademark since 1997, with the app's "sexual connotation and images," and that users "are being misled into believing that the plaintiffs have endorsed" the app. The suit demands that HP and Palm halt sales of The Chubby Checker and seeks triple damages of profits derived from sales of the app.

"We cannot sit idly and watch as technology giants or anyone else exploits the name or likeness of an innocent person with the goal of making millions of dollars," said lawyer Willie Gary. "The defendants have marketed Chubby Checkers' name on their product to gain a profit and this just isn't right."

Despite the excited claim of "millions of dollars," The Chubby Checker was reportedly downloaded a whopping 84 times before it was pulled from the Gallery; at a buck a pop, that represents actual damages, when tripled, just shy of $260. Nonetheless, Gary is seeking $500 million in his lawsuit - that's right, a half-billion dollars. HP has not commented except to say that the application was removed from the App Gallery last year.

Oh right, a 60's "hit", so he's a fossil then. And apparently a delusional asshole. Who's going to associate the 'brand' of a forgotten man - insofar as a forgotten man can have one - with anything? I've never heard of him and his lawsuit is absurd.

The App is stupid, harmless fun for whoever can find amusement at that level. This is just harassment via litigation.

Listen, Chubby, your name (fake name that is) is made of of two common terms. Chubby (stout, fat, male genetalia particulairly erect) and checker (a type of pattern, a person or device which "checks" or investigates something). You do not own these words. They are perfectly allowed to use the english langue. Also who in the name of the Allfather are you? Nevermind, I don't want to know.

Well, half a billion is a lot of money, but they were giving him a bad name by associating his name/tradmark with something like that.And HP has lots and lots of money, so yes, I think that would be a proper punishment.

Good thing lawsuits aren't like pokemon battles.Otherwise they'd lose half of what they've got, if they lost.

Chubby Checker? Never heard of him. If he owns the rights to his stupid name, I suppose I'd support him in having the app pulled until they renamed it. That said, in a sane court the case would go something like this.

Ok...on the one hand, as if they're trying to exploit the popularity of someone nobody knows. They were trying to think of a safe way to say penis for their stupid, inane app. On the other hand, it IS a stupid, inane app, and Hewlett-Packard probably deserve to be sued somehow. So I don't really care how this ends, but one party is losing money and I wouldn't have it any other way.

So a guy is suing for half a billion over a product that made less than $100 for using his trademarked name, meanwhile his rise to fame was a song he did a cover for a song that was covered by him. He made a fortune (re-releasing the song repeatedly) while the original artist didn't. What a jerk.

I can understand Chubby Checker not wanting his name associated with a product like this but 500 million dollars? Dude, A C&D letter should have been enough. As evidenced by this thread, his time has passed and many probably wont even know who he was (for the record, the name was very familiar to me, and when The Twist was brought up I was like 'oh, that guy!'), so asking for that amount of money is rather ridiculous.

Quellist:Shame on Chubby for the frivolus lawsuit. But i could almost forgive him considering its brought this hilarious app to my attention, i cant look at that 'Check Da Chubby' pic without smirking.

The sad part is: if he doesn't sue, under US law he LOSES HIS TRADEMARK! This may be just a way for him to keep the trademark. And saying that the name sounds kinda like his trademarked name is just a touch off: they added the word "the" to the front of his trademark.

Would you be saying the same if apple sued someone for making something like this then calling it "the apple"

Who is this guy? Hes fame was 50 years ago...What the hell is that platform?!Who the hell makes that platform.500 million, for a useless jokes of a program that generated less than is requires to pay my really small apartment's rent.

Also who the fuck is that guy? Should I be sad that I have never heard of him?And he has to be so old that hell drop off to the mud pit with shower of flowers soon enough...And again who the fuck is that guy?